An investigation of the mechanism of lacquer adhesion failure on electrolytic tinplate. "Tin" cans used for food packaging are actually made from tin-plated steel and, in most cases, the metal is coated with a lacquer. This lacquer is required to protect the can from corrosion and the contents from taint. The incidence of adhesion failure between the metal and the lacquer has increased recently for unknown reasons, causing considerable economic loss. This project will investigate the mechanisms ....An investigation of the mechanism of lacquer adhesion failure on electrolytic tinplate. "Tin" cans used for food packaging are actually made from tin-plated steel and, in most cases, the metal is coated with a lacquer. This lacquer is required to protect the can from corrosion and the contents from taint. The incidence of adhesion failure between the metal and the lacquer has increased recently for unknown reasons, causing considerable economic loss. This project will investigate the mechanisms of adhesion failure and improve our fundamental understanding of the problem. The results will be used to enable the selection of process conditions and lacquers that are more robust and reduce the incidence of adhesion failure.Read moreRead less
Modelling for Optimisation and Scale-up of the Multilayer Blown Film Process. Multilayered blown film plastic films play an important role in the food and packaging industry in Australia and SE Asia. This project aims to predict the polymer film properties for a large scale line based on experimental data from the pilot scale studies using limited quantities of polymer. This project will investigate the fundamental rheology of polymer resins and blends used for multilayered films and correlate ....Modelling for Optimisation and Scale-up of the Multilayer Blown Film Process. Multilayered blown film plastic films play an important role in the food and packaging industry in Australia and SE Asia. This project aims to predict the polymer film properties for a large scale line based on experimental data from the pilot scale studies using limited quantities of polymer. This project will investigate the fundamental rheology of polymer resins and blends used for multilayered films and correlate these to the operating parameters in pilot and industrial scales using blown-film models. The interrelationship between the models in two scales will result in reducing trial and error and will optimise production costs.Read moreRead less
Modelling the Transient Effects in Dense Phase Gas-Solids Flow in Pipelines. Almost every physical item we use in our daily lives at some point requires the transport and handling of powdered or granular materials during the manufacturing process. Be it food (sugar, flour), chemicals (soap powders, detergents), cosmetics (talc, face powder) or electricity generation (coal and ash); each of these industries uses the flexibility of pipeline systems to transport powders and granular solids using ai ....Modelling the Transient Effects in Dense Phase Gas-Solids Flow in Pipelines. Almost every physical item we use in our daily lives at some point requires the transport and handling of powdered or granular materials during the manufacturing process. Be it food (sugar, flour), chemicals (soap powders, detergents), cosmetics (talc, face powder) or electricity generation (coal and ash); each of these industries uses the flexibility of pipeline systems to transport powders and granular solids using air as the motive force. However, the cost of poor design and the inaccurate prediction of system performance adversely affect the efficiency of many industries. Improvements to the accuracy of gas-solid flow modeling particularly for low velocity dense phase systems will have a direct impact on manufacturing efficiency.Read moreRead less
An intelligent design support system for manufacturing of palletising machinery. The food and beverage manufacturing process in most Australian enterprises is a highly automated process, where food cartons, bottles or cans are required to move at a controlled speed for filling or assembly operations. These operations require highly efficient and reliable material handling machinery such as palletising systems. The outcome of this research will be of direct economic benefit to Australian manuf ....An intelligent design support system for manufacturing of palletising machinery. The food and beverage manufacturing process in most Australian enterprises is a highly automated process, where food cartons, bottles or cans are required to move at a controlled speed for filling or assembly operations. These operations require highly efficient and reliable material handling machinery such as palletising systems. The outcome of this research will be of direct economic benefit to Australian manufacturers and suppliers of such machinery in reducing the cost and lead time of designing and delivering highly automated flexible palletising and de-palletising systems with maximum performance.Read moreRead less